Daily Republican., 1887-07-22
mANGLED by AN EXPRESS.
Railroad Laborers Run Down and Gu,
gins Mows its way Through the Men.

Railroad Laborers Run Down and Cut
to Pieces by q Fast Trsip-The Nm.
gins Mows its way Through the Men.
NEW YORK, July 2l.-One Of those
friehtful accidAnts which come with
appalling suddenpess, when there is.no
apparcnt reason why they could not
be easily avoided, took place on the
Erie Railroad between Allendale and
Hohokus. The catastrophe was attend
ed with an appalling loes Of life, and
over dozen mang!ed bodies on the
track attested the neglect OF some one
whose duty 1t should have been to give
warning OF the Impending disaster.
A gang Of Italian laborers were At
work ballnsting on the railroad little
distance from . sharp curve about
three. .fourths of . mile above Hohokus.
The Chicago express, which was dus an
hour before, had not arrived, and these
men, whose foreman should have given
q warning whistle when the train was
approaching the sharp curve, were
busy at work, unconscious OF the terri.
BILE fate which was in store for them.
At o quarter past seven O'Clock train
No. IL, the express which was due an
hour prev ious, rushed round the curve
before the men had the slightest warn.
ing and dashed through them, killing
twelve or fifteen on :he spot and wound
ing many others. The shrteks CT the
victims were heartrendinE, and when
the train slowed up the track presented
the sickening sight of being covered
with mangled bodies, the rails bein
spattsred with blood ard broken limbs,
pieces OF ragged flesh being scattered IN
all directions.
Some Of the bodies were mar gled be-
yond description and crushed ont OF all
sem blspce OF humanity. To most OF the
victims death must have come instsntA
neously, but some Of them appeared tc
: bs yet quivering and life ebbing away
when the IL ain was slowed up.
So fierce Was the shock that although
the engine struck nothing but human
, beings, the powerful cowcatcher wa
l torn, twisted and broken into pieces
r Some OF the Italians were crowded i,
against the rocks, . very narrow space
and they crouched down in terror. Tn
= engineer Of the express reversed his en-
gine, aud was coming to stop whel
the passengers told him to 60 ahead
Looking back, they sAw the uninjnre,
Italians sc:ing like man!acs. The
were yelling, gesticulat!ng and tearin
their clothes. Some were kneeling, on
others dashing about In the MIDI le {
n the chastity pile Of napgled bodies
' When they saw tho train stopping the
made q ru, h for IL, and had they reac he
1t, undoubtedly the engineer, tirema
and conductor would have been mu
dered. For this reason IL was deeme
. best to come on 10 Jersey City, wher
the engineer and conductor were close
= ed with the officers of the road.
local train which WAS behind the Ch
II csgo express. In conversation with
. reporter described the scene as one
the mott sickening that could be wi
messed.
"Along the tracks," he said, "we
arLns, legs, truL ks, and other parts
bodies, and the tracks for long di
n tanoe were rlippery with blood. IT
" disaster must have taken place vii
/. such appalling suddenuess that Il
i. men did not know till the train wi
IL down on them. The conductor OF tt
ia train ON which rode said that the ira
~ bands Of the express were L rot to blam
He believed the foreman OF the gar
was responsible for the disaster by n
~ gleoting to give warning"
\ Mr. March, the padrone who suppli
the Erie Railroad Company with
e. Italisn laborers, arrived early at Pate
. SOD, N. j. He identified the men
. means Of their mum bers, which q
written on slips and carried by the M
In little tin boxes. Six or seven hu
- dred dollars were founa On the perso
. of the dead men and we're taken by N
X March to be handed by him TO the It,
ian Consul In New York in trust
their relatives. Mr.. March's action "
al o source OF In iignstion to the other It.
=. ians, who wanted TO take charge Of I
d. money themselves. They would ba
,d mobbed him only for the timely int
terencs OF tho two policemen.